


High Standards

by bluethunder



Series: A Fine Pair (Norribeth) [1]
Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: F/M, No beta we die like men - pointlessly and unprepared
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:28:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29046168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluethunder/pseuds/bluethunder
Summary: Elizabeth Swann expected life after the cursed pirates to be simple. She and Will Turner would marry. Perhaps they would go back to sea or stay and build up the blacksmith shop's business, but the details wouldn't matter because they loved each other. That was before Jack mentioned that William Turner Sr. was likely still alive and possibly under the thumb of a wicked man. Will went haring off after his father, leaving Elizabeth to her own life. However, the relationship between Will and Elizabeth was not the only one that has been damaged in the last year. Perhaps a conversation can help mend some fences.
Relationships: James Norrington/Elizabeth Swann
Series: A Fine Pair (Norribeth) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849267
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	High Standards

“James.” Elizabeth greeted, stepping out onto the veranda.

“Miss Swann. Hello.”

“There’s no need to be so formal… unless you are hinting that I should not refer to you by your name?” She inquired politely.

“No, of course not.” James answered quickly. “You are more than welcome to refer to me however you please.”

She grinned mischievously at that. “Oh? Such power to give me, Commodore.”

He let out a breath through his nose in lieu of a laugh.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Miss - Elizabeth?”

“I thought…” she paused. “I had considered I might speak to you. About my father.”

“Is something the matter?”

“Yes, but not the way you mean.” She searched his face with her eyes. “Forgive me, but it seems as if your relationship with him has waned.”

“I beg pardon?”

“Father. You don’t stay late to speak with him after meetings anymore. You come for dinner when he invites you, but you beg off before brandy. You are always civil, of course, and I do not mean to chastise you, exactly, it’s only… I cannot help but notice and it seems to me that the two of you are unhappy. Has something gone amiss between you?”

“I admit…” he winced, “that my relationship with Governor Swann may have… lessoned in its degree of intimacy of late.”

“But why? It’s not his fault that I -” she caught herself, “did what I did.”

“No.” James agreed, then sighed. “I would not and do not hold him to account for your actions.”

“Then why?”

“I suppose I’m being childish, but I rather resent the idea that after insisting so firmly that nothing less than a Commodore would do for his daughter - after making me wait to court you for three years over the formality of station - that he suddenly decided a blacksmith was acceptable.” There was a bitterness in his voice she’d never heard before.

“Oh.” Elizabeth paused and considered it. “Three years?”

“You debuted at seventeen.” He reminded.

“I’m aware of that. I wasn’t aware that you were interested.”

“I was very much interested.” James assured her dryly. “And if you didn’t know it, your father certainly did. But he made it clear that despite his personal affection for me and confidence in my ability to rise in my career, his daughter - a lady - would require a partner of adequate social standing and a post captain fell short of that in his estimation. I agreed that you deserved no less. I slaved away for three years - which was record time, might I add - to get that promotion so I could finally court you.”

“But you didn’t show any interest! I had no idea you even thought of me!” Elizabeth protested.

“It would not be seemly to be… demonstrative. Any overt affection without a formal courtship would be damaging to your reputation and if I even thought of it, your father would never give his consent. I had to be circumspect.”

Elizabeth took a long breath through her nose. “There’s circumspect and there’s cold.”

He whipped to face her with an expression as though he’d been slapped. “Cold?”

“James, you went from talking to me about your travels and Shakespeare and teasing me about my poor Latin skills to… ignoring me. We were friends and then I was out and I was… willing to consider more, but then you were gone.”

He bristled, but she continued.

“I don’t mean when you were at sea. I understood that. But when you came back, you were… polite, but curt. You didn’t joke with me. You didn’t seek me out. You never danced with me more than once in an evening and you - you were so stuffy and formal and I thought I’d done something to drive you away. I thought… perhaps I was too bold at my debut and you lost respect for me. At least as a girl, we could hold a conversation. But you retreated and only spoke to me about the weather and such when waiting for meetings with my father. You just… vanished from my life. After a year or two, I accepted it. You may have indulged the little girl on your ship, but you had no interest in the young woman I was becoming. When father told me you’d asked for a courtship, I was stunned, but I thought we might recover what was lost and I… I liked that idea. But when you came to call on me, you were stiff and civil. You paid me compliments on my dress or my flower arranging or my singing, but you never spoke to me of anything of value or showed me any affection. It was clear to me that you wanted a social match.”

“A SOCIAL MATCH?” He bit out.

“I was the governor’s daughter.” She reminded. “And well dowried. And not too bad to look at -”

“You were by far the most beautiful woman in Jamaica and you knew it.”

“So I’d make a convenient match and a pretty ornament. Something to hang off your arm like a medal at dinners with the Admiralty board.” She sighed. “When you described marrying me as an ‘achievement’ in your proposal, that was my confirmation. I was staring at my future: a lifetime of cold civilities, stuffy ballrooms, and a disinterested husband. At least that disinterest might make it marginally less likely for me to die in childbed like my mother, though I doubted it. Mental disinterest and physical disinterest are often quite unrelated, I understand.”

Shame filled him from boot to brow.

“But I understood that was probably my best option. It wouldn’t be so bad. You, at least, would be respectful. You wouldn’t hurt me intentionally and perhaps, if I proved myself to be minimally invasive to your life, you might occasionally take me to sea with you. I thought I might content myself with that. But then I fell and everything changed.”

“I acknowledge my blunders with the proposal, but even during courtship…” he paused. “I was very much aware that I was beneath you and that if I put a toe out of line, your father would dismiss me, withdraw his consent, at once. I would never have a second chance to court you.”

“But you didn’t court me, James. You courted my father. Quite successfully, I will add. He adores you and he is hurt by your distance. Please, just try to… forgive his affection for me. I swore up and down I would never be happy without Will and I threatened to go to sea if he would not give his consent. I wore him down as I always have. It’s not his fault.” She gently reached for his hand. “I am sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” He asked, his heart in his throat.

“I’m sorry that you felt slighted. I can see why you would, truly, but he meant no discourtesy towards you.”

Of course. She only meant for her father.

“He has tried to make amends in his own way, hasn’t he?” Elizabeth asked gently.

“I suppose he has.”

“Men.” She snorted. “Your egos are all so fragile you can’t risk them to have an honest conversation and move things along.”

“I thank you for the fine compliment of your observation.” James responded dryly.

“You’re the son he always wanted. He’s the father you always wanted. You should just discuss it so you can move on.” She rolled her eyes.

“Perhaps.” He allowed. “Are all men so foolish in your eyes?”

“Most of them. Jack’s foolish in the opposite way. He says every little impertinent thing that pops into his mind unless it’s related to his scheming. It’s when he’s quiet that you have to worry.” She astutely observed.

“And you, Miss Swann? Are you not encumbered with the bravado you find so repugnant in the lesser sex?”

“Oh, I have plenty of pride. I can admit that. But I always say what I want, one way or another. It’s hardly my fault if no one listens.”

“And what do you want, Elizabeth?” he inquired, looking into the brown eyes that had captivated him years before.

“Right now? I want you and my father to make amends and be happy again.”

“And in the larger scope?”

“I want to be free.” Elizabeth gave a wry grin and looked wistfully back to the ocean. “But I’m aware that the freedom I want, for a woman, anyway, is only found in piracy. I’ve considered it. I have it on good authority that I’m quite the pirate myself, at least in spirit. And I learned quite a bit of navigation from you and Jack, and the sword from Will. I’ve considered how to make my escape more than once.”

His heart clenched.

“But you have not done that.”

“True. Because I also want my father to live a long and happy life. He’d have a bout of apoplexy if I left. He nearly did when I was kidnapped and the doctor says I must be mindful of it. He’s had a few attacks lately and I… I won’t be his death.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Of course not. You haven’t spoken of anything but orders and the weather in weeks.”

“Months.” James admitted to his shame. He paused. “Is there nothing but piracy that can give you the freedom you seek?”

“Not truly. But I’ve considered what compromises I can make.” She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips at the thought. “But even with Will gone, I’m not going to marry someone for his name or money or land, even if it would please my father. I won’t marry without love, even if it is naïve, and there I make my stand. I’ll likely be a spinster living at King’s House with my father until he dies. At that point, I have no idea what I’ll do. Probably take Jack up on his offers to sail with him, though I expect his offers would be less forthcoming if I were older. I suppose we shall have to see.”

“You won’t wait for Mr. Turner?” he asked quietly.

“No. I’ve done my waiting. He swore that he loved me and that I would always come first. I believed him because he risked his life for me repeatedly. Did you know that when Barbossa threw me to the crew for their use, he held a loaded pistol to his throat and threatened to fire?”

James went white at the threat to her, not the boy’s threatened suicide, but she continued on.

“He said that if I didn’t go free, he’d pull the trigger and they’d all be cursed forever. He meant it. That frightened me more than the thought of rape at the hands of a dozen or so pirates. I realized then that I loved him and that he loved me. I suppose I thought that if we loved each other so fiercely, nothing would ever come between us. But it did. In the end, no matter how earnestly he whispered his admiration, no matter how tightly he held me or how passionately he kissed me, he put something before us. An important thing, I admit, but still. I couldn’t bear that. I won’t suffer it. So I will die a spinster for I will not marry for anything less than a man who always, always, always puts our relationship first. No matter the consequences.”

“Do you really think there is no man who can fit that particular bill?”

“A man who will care more about me than society or reputation or his work or his duties or his other connections? If you see such a creature, point him out to me.” She snorted. “I should very much like to see it.”

His heart thundered in his chest. It would be foolish to throw himself upon the rocks again, to offer his beating heart for her to crush under her heel a second time. And yet… if he did not speak, he would always regret it - always wonder.

“I believe such a creatures stands before you, madam.” His pulse rang in his ears. “Do what you will with that knowledge.”

She was quiet for a long moment as she observed him, searching his face for a sign of his joke and finding none.

“James…” She began carefully and his heart fell into his stomach. “I did not mean that as a criticism of you or any man, surely. It is only…” she frowned. “I understand that those things are important. I am not that naïve. Men care about their reputations and work and duties and connections. They should. I would not respect someone who was frivolous with any of those things.”

“You just want whatever man you call yours to prioritize your life together above them.”

“Yes, exactly. So you see, it is - I do not insult your honor or -”

“Tell me, Miss Swann, do you not have these same considerations?” James startled her by interrupting her for the first time in his life, his irritation plain.

“I do.”

“And did you put your relationship with Mr. Turner above them?”

“I did.” She answered.

“Then why would you think me incapable of doing the same?” he asked pointedly.

She gave him a short nod. “I beg your pardon, Commodore. I meant no offense. I’m sure that with the right… motivation, you are fully capable of it.”

“You misunderstand me. I do not want your acknowledgment of my ability in the abstract. I want your acknowledgment of its practical employment.”

“What?”

“Society mattered little to me beyond its necessity for courting the governor’s daughter. Reputation serves likewise. I have worked hard for that reputation, but I did not let it stop me from allowing you to damage it by jilting me publicly for a craftsman. Needless to say, my position in society also suffered. As to work and duty, I risked not only my commission, but also my life and the lives of my men in going after Mr. Turner at your request. When it comes to connections, I admit that I have little by way of family to speak of - or at least speak well of. It is the task of the second son to make his own way and I have. My brother is… well, let us say that his wife is a long-suffering woman and his children would be better raised by wolves. However, your father is very dear to me and I risked his ire and disapproval to court you. In fact, I received his disapproval. I had to rise to achieve his acceptance if not his endorsement and I bore that knowledge painfully, but did so in the hopes of earning your affections. I will take full responsibility for the failure of my courtship, but you cannot rightfully say that I did not put you and the prospect of a relationship with you before these and, indeed, any considerations.”

Elizabeth stared at him, her mouth slightly open with surprise. It was several moments later when his expectant look was answered.

“I… I cannot refute your statement. You are, of course, correct in this matter and I apologize for… for impugning you.”

“Thank you.” He answered stiffly, but continued to look at her expectantly.

“Was there something else, Commodore?”

“I cannot tell if you are being intentionally obtuse in order to avoid injuring me or if you are genuinely ignorant.”

“I don’t understand -”

“Elizabeth, you have sworn to have no man who will not prioritize you above all else. You have, yourself, acknowledged that I have met this criterion. Can you not see the connection between these points and hazard a guess as to what I might be waiting for you to inform me of?”

“But that - James, that was… some time ago.”

“You think that my ability to put you first has waned?” He raised an eyebrow.

“No. I think the reason for your willingness to do so has.”

James swallowed hard. “Then allow me to disabuse you of that notion. I am every bit as much in love with you today, in this moment, as ever.”

Elizabeth stared at him wordlessly as he continued.

“I hope you will at least have the mercy to tell me whether or not I have any chance.”

“You love me?”

“Yes.”

“You want to marry me?”

“Yes.”

“Still?”

James breathed tiredly. “Yes, Elizabeth. Always.”

There was a beat of silence as he thought his heart might erupt from his chest.

“Ask my father to court me again.”

His head bobbed up in surprise.

“He will say yes.” She paused. “I… I am very fond of you, James. I am sorry if I have not always made that apparent. And I do respect you very much. I cannot promise… I cannot promise to return your feelings precisely as they are given right away. Indeed, I cannot truthfully claim to know that I can make that promise ever. But I will try. That I can say with certainty. And when it comes to putting you first, I will do no less for you than you do - have done - for me.”

An unfamiliar feeling blossomed in his chest. He kissed her hand, thanked her, and quickly went to find her father. It was only when he was in the carriage home that he recognized it as hope.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed it, please comment and/or leave kudos! :)


End file.
